Texan Cross Country Ranks Second; Lady Texans Third Entering OSU Jamboree

As the Texan and Lady Texan cross country teams enter their third meets of the season, they are also quickly rising in the polls as the Texans are tied for second and the Lady Texans rank third in the latest NJCAA polls released today.

Head cross country coach Chris Beene is pleasantly surprised with the progress of his women's team.

"I have been especially pleased with our women's team. We had a couple of kids who decided not to come at the end of last year and then a couple of international athletes who did not make it through the embassy so I really did not know where our strengths were going to be on the women's side," says Beene. "But then we had Kirsten Taylor who is somewhat of a local girl coming from Odessa and is running phenomenally for us.

"We had another 800 meter girl from Milwaukee who is doing phenomenally and Leann Cardona, a local girl from Levelland is doing really well," Beene added. "You are only as good as your third, fourth, fifth, and sixth runners. We have not had that bottom end to be competitive for a championship recently."

The SPC cross country teams depart Friday morning for Stillwater, Oklahoma where they will participate in the Oklahoma State University Jamboree, one of the largest cross country meets in the country. They will both compete in the university division races and the women will race at 9:15 a.m. and the men will run at 9:45 a.m.